


Just a Bug

by Dean_hugs_Sammy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Appendicitis, Concerned Dean, Gen, Hurt Dean Winchester, Protective Dean Winchester, Sick Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 02:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2905583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dean_hugs_Sammy/pseuds/Dean_hugs_Sammy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sam is sick and Dean gets in a bit of trouble. Dean goes to a bar and leaves his sick brother behind. Sam just had a stomach bug… right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dean should have stayed with his brother instead of going out. He knows that now. He should have known it all along, from the very first moment he'd suspected that Sam was coming down with something, because Sammy never did things halfway - especially not when he got sick.

It had all started on their way back to the motel room they'd rented for the time being after a successful hunt of a water spirit. Dean had been in a good mood and was dreaming about the beer he knew would be waiting for him at the nearest bar. Maybe he would even run into a little lady friend and the thought of it made him grin. Dean had turned his head a bit to eye his little brother who was currently half-asleep in the seat next to him. Sam had been a little under the weather this particular day but he had still taken on the water spirit without any problems so he had to be fine, right? Dean had drummed a little on the wheel with his fingers and he had then turned the music down a bit before slapping his brother's shoulder.

"Sam, listen to this; ice cold beer and frisky women." Dean said and moved his hand through the air as to illustrate an invisible text. "What do you say? Sounds good, right?"

Sam grunted a little and rubbed a hand back and forth on his stomach.

"No thanks man. I'm ready to hit the sack." Sam said.

"What? No, come _on_ Sam!" Dean said and let his eyes wander from the road to Sam and back to the road again. "Is this about you still having the shits?"

"It's called diarrhea and yes." Sam said with a wrinkle of his nose. "My stomach is still upset and I would rather deal with it in a motel room than in some confined bar where you'll be trying to hook up with some chick anyway."

"And your idea of dealing with it involves a toilet seat plastered to your ass, am I right?" Dean grinned.

"Funny." Sam said dryly.

Dean chuckled a little as he remembered how red Sam's face had turned when they'd visited a diner for lunch earlier in the day. Sam hadn't really had much of an appetite and he had had to use the place's single toilet and had received an incensed and disgusted look from a middle-aged woman who had wanted to use the toilet after Sam.

"You're such a buzzkill. But if you want to stay back at the motel and set up base camp on the poop deck then suit yourself." Dean smirked and Sam rolled his eyes.

"You're enjoying this a little too much, aren't you?" Sam asked.

"Yep." Dean grinned and turned the music back up before singing along.

"Jackass." Sam mumbled which made the older brother's lips twitch.

As soon as they'd returned to their motel room of the week, Sam had flopped down on his bed face first and buried his nose into his pillow.

"That tired, huh?" Dean said while taking off his jacket. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Dean." Sam murmured into his pillow. "Just a stomach bug."

Dean scratched the stubbles on his chin and nodded slowly. Even now that Sam was a grown man Dean would never really stop worrying about his little brother's well-being, and he always hated leaving Sam on his own when the younger brother wasn't feeling well.

"Alright princess but if you need me you call me, okay?" Dean said.

"Mm-hmm.." Sam nodded, already drifting off.

Dean snorted, picked up some clean clothes from his duffel bag and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. When he returned again fifteen minutes later, cleaned and feeling like a better man, Sam was snoring softly in his bed. The younger Winchester brother hadn't moved an inch since Dean had left him and Dean couldn't help the fond smile that spread on his face. He closed the gap between him and his brother and removed the shoes Sam was still wearing. Dean did the same thing with Sam's jacket which made the younger brother stir a bit and mumble something unintelligible, but he stayed asleep nonetheless. Dean pulled the covers from underneath his brother and pulled them up around Sam's shoulders. He then placed his hand underneath Sam's bangs to check for a fever, with a tenderness he would deny if anyone ever asked.

"You're a little warm, kiddo." Dean mumbled but was comforted by the fact that the heat wasn't too profound.

Dean placed a couple of Tylenols on the nightstand along with a glass of water and Sam's cell phone, and he let the bedside lamp burn so Sam would be able to see the things if he woke up before Dean got back. The older brother snorted a little by his own actions that apparently hadn't changed a bit since they'd been kids and Sam had been left in Dean's care while their dad was busy with more _important_ things than being a father.

"All your soft touchy-feely crap keeps rubbing off at me, Sammy." Dean muttered and put on his jacket. "Time for the beer and ladies!"

Dean picked up his car keys and checked the salt lines before stepping outside and locking up the door behind him. He then started whistling as he walked to the car and let a hand slide across the shiny metal of his baby. Dean looked back at the motel room door and wondered for a second if he should stay with his brother instead of going out. He decided against it though, shook his head and slid behind the wheel of his car.

**_ SPN _**

When Sam came to, it was the waves of pain shooting through his lower abdomen that woke him up. He let out a groan and rubbed a hand back and forth on his skin in hope of calming down his upset stomach - but without any success.

"Crap." Sam mumbled and carefully got into a sitting position on the bed.

He turned his head and, from the glow of the bedside lamp, his eyes caught sight of a couple of Tylenols and a glass of water on the nightstand. Sam smiled wryly. Despite all Dean's attempts to avoid anything that could seem like a chick-flick moment, his big brother was such a mother hen. Sam swung his legs out over the edge of the bed and carded a hand through his curly locks before reaching out for the pills. But just as his hand was about to close around one of the pills, pain shot through his stomach again and Sam clamped a hand over his mouth as nausea washed over him. He then shot up as fast as he could and had to use the nightstand to steady himself a bit before he rushed to the bathroom.

Sam slid to his knees in front of the toilet, made it just in time to empty his stomach into the toilet bowl and he kept heaving until there was nothing left to throw up. The youngest Winchester brother then let his forehead come to a rest against his left arm, and used his right hand to wipe away the remains of vomit and the tears that had escaped from his eyes. He stayed like that for a few moments until he decided the bed would be a more comfortable place to rest. Sam groaned as he pushed himself back on his feet and gripped the edge of the sink while he got through the vertigo that washed over him.

" _Okay, so maybe this stomach bug is worse than I first expected."_ Sam thought and turned on the faucet to splash some cold water in his face.

Sam staggered back to his bed while holding a protective hand on his stomach. This time around he was able to swallow down the pills with the glass of water before he got settled back into the motel bed. Sam's brows furrowed as more pain made itself known and he sent a longing look towards the empty bed closest to the door. Whenever Sam got hurt or sick he forgot about his own stubborn attempts of being independent, and wished for his big brother to make everything better. But Sam was also a man and a man wasn't supposed to call his brother because his tummy hurt. Still, it took a lot of willpower for him not to grab his cell phone and push speed-dial, so instead Sam curled up on his side and wrapped both hands around his stomach while he waited for the Tylenols to take effect.

At one point Sam must have fallen asleep because when he woke back up, the time on the clock radio had turned 1.18 a.m. which meant he had been asleep for a few hours. The untouched bed next to him told him that Dean had yet to come back from his trip to the bar, but it was okay because Sam's stomach had settled down a bit. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Sam eyed the empty glass on the nightstand and let out a sigh as he realized he would have to get out of bed to fill it up. As soon as he tried to move though, sharp pain shot through the lower part of his stomach again.

"The hell.." Sam hissed and curled into as small a ball as possible while clenching his stomach with both hands.

He tried to breathe through the pain but it was pretty intense and the nausea from earlier also reappeared. Sam felt a little comforted by the fact that he at least didn't have anything left in his stomach to throw up, but the pain though – the pain was bad.

"Geez." Sam groaned and clenched his stomach hard.

This couldn't be normal. Something was entirely wrong. Sam whimpered as the pain got so intense that it took his breath away and he had to bite down on his pillow. When the pain finally settled down enough for the youngest Winchester brother to breathe again, Sam knew it was time to call for the one person that could fix this. Sam reached out for his cell phone – hissing as he did so – and pushed the number of his big brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean was disappointed. He had spent several hours at a bar where the most attractive women had been the 52 year-old bartender with cigarette-stained teeth, and the young girl whose boyfriend had threatened to rearrange Dean's face if he ever got near her again. He'd only had a couple of beers and had decided that, if he wasn't going to go home with a lady, he could as well try to hustle a bit of pool. So that was what Dean Winchester – demon hunter extraordinaire and badass hustler number one – was doing right now.

Dean chalked the pool cue and glanced at his opponent – a big man named Rick - with a wry smile. The man's face had turned more and more red during their match as Dean had gotten closer and closer to victory _and_ to the 400$ of cash they were playing about. Dean only needed one great shot to finish the game and they both knew it.

"What's it gonna be kid?" Rick asked in a not so polite tone.

"Impatient, are we?" Dean grinned and angled the pool cue on the table.

Dean took a deep breath and closed one eye to focus on the shot, before thrusting the pool cue into the white ball that hit the eight ball dead on so it ended in a perfect drop into the corner.

"Fuck!" Rick swore and threw his own pool cue into a wall. "You cheated!"

"Hey, hate the game – not the player." Dean smirked and stuffed the 400$ into his jeans pocket.

"I want a rematch." Rick said and tied the knot on his bandana a bit tighter while glaring at Dean.

"Sorry man, not tonight." Dean said while taking a swig of his half-finished beer.

"Come on! Double or nothing." Rick pushed on.

"No thanks." Dean said as he put his jacket back on.

His thoughts had been with his little brother throughout the whole time in the bar and Dean was more than ready to get back to the motel room to check up on said brother by now. Since Dean hadn't heard anything from Sam, he hoped it meant that Sam was peacefully asleep back in their motel room and that the stomach bug wasn't too bad after all. But when had things ever been that easy when your last name was Winchester?

As Dean was walking out of the bar, his cell phone started ringing and he didn't have to check the name on the display to know who was calling him.

"Sammy?" Dean asked as he picked up.

" _Dean_." Came the weak reply and Dean's worry spiked in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked as he headed towards the car. "Did you get worse?"

" _Y-yes_." Sam admitted with a groan.

Dean was about to make a comment about Sam's diarrhea but thought better of it. If Sam was feeling bad enough to call Dean in the middle of the night, it was definitely not the right time to make fun of the situation. Not when his little brother was sick and all alone back in the motel room. Dean felt a hint of guilt spread inside him by the thought of it and sped up his steps.

"Just hold on, okay?" Dean said and winced a little when Sam let out a whimper. It had to be bad for Sam to make a sound like that. "I'll be there as fast as I can."

" _Okay just.. hurry, please_." Sam begged and sounded so much younger in that moment than his actual age.

"I promise, Sammy." Dean said and then hung up the phone.

He was so lost in thoughts about his brother that he didn't even notice a person sneaking up on him until he was grabbed around his neck from behind. Dean shot an elbow backwards that connected with the attacker's midsection which made the arms loosen around Dean's neck for a second, and Dean quickly took advantage of it. He spun around and sent a fist to the person's jaw and, as the man stumbled backwards, Dean now recognized him as one of the guys Rick was hanging out with before their pool match.

Before he had any chance to do more, a punch collided with Dean's temple and he saw stars for a minute while someone hit the back of his legs with something hard – sending the oldest Winchester brother to his knees. Dean quickly composed himself though and rolled away to a safer position before he carefully got back on his feet.

"You should have taken my offer." Rick's voice snarled and Dean let out an annoyed huff.

"That is what this is all about?" Dean asked with an eye roll. "You have some serious issues man."

He warily eyed Rick's buddy, who was rubbing his jaw from the punch Dean had given him, and then looked at the baseball bat Rick was holding in his right hand.

"You shut the fuck up or we'll find a better way for you to use that pretty mouth!" Rick's buddy (that Dean had just secretly named pirate-guy because of his big golden earrings) shouted.

"Isn't that a little bit cliché even for a guy like you?" Dean snorted which just seemed to piss pirate-guy off even more.

"You've got a lot of nerve!" Pirate-guy growled and took a step forward but Rick stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

"I've got this." Rick said and clenched the baseball bat in a threatening way. "We don't like people like you in this town."

"People like me? Oh, you mean someone who actually knows how to spell their own name?" Dean smirked.

"I mean you and that giant freak who have been snooping around in this town." Rick said and now it was his turn to smirk as Dean's face instantly turned stone-hard by the mention of his brother. "Yeah, that's right. Mary-Ann saw the two of you down at the diner earlier and she heard the big freak talk about ghosts and some other crazy stuff."

"Who is he anyway? Your lover?" Pirate-guy mocked with a big grin.

"No, not lover." Rick smirked as he studied Dean's cold expression. "I'll take a guess and say _brother_."

"That freak of nature is his brother?" Pirate-guy asked before laughing and Dean clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Before any of the two men in front of him could react, Dean had swung a fist to pirate-guy's nose. The bone cracked with a sickening sound and the man was out cold before he even hit the ground. Rick roared and swung the baseball bat towards Dean but the oldest Winchester brother easily dodged it and punched Rick in the stomach. Rick doubled over and Dean jumped a step backwards before circle-kicking the man in the head which sent Rick to the ground as well. Dean picked up the baseball bat that Rick had dropped in the fight and placed the tip of it against the groaning man's throat.

"Don't you _ever_ talk that way about my brother! You understand me?" Dean threatened in a low and dangerous voice.

As to emphasize his words he drew back the baseball bat and brought it down hard on the ground right next to Rick's face – so hard that the bat split in two pieces.

"Don't hurt me! Please!" Rick begged and covered his face with his hands.

Dean grabbed the man's collar and pulled him half-way up.

"You better pray you don't see me again." Dean sneered and then let go.

He threw the pieces of the baseball bat on the ground and then closed the distance between him and the car before he got behind the wheel of the Impala. Without as much as glancing back once, Dean sped out of the parking lot. He might have been Dean Winchester – badass and demon hunter extraordinaire – but first of all, he was a big brother.

**_ SPN _**

"Sam?" Dean asked when he opened up the door to the motel room.

He quickly scanned the dim-lighted room until his eyes caught sight of his little brother's form in the bed furthest away from the door – exactly where Dean had left him.

"Sam?" Dean asked again as he closed the door behind him and headed towards the bed.

Sam didn't answer. He was curled up on his side with his back turned towards Dean and the older brother didn't like the pained sounds that escaped Sam every now and then. Dean walked to the other side of the bed, crouched down in front of his brother and put a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Sammy." Dean said in a soft voice and took in the pale color of Sam's face.

Sam slowly opened his eyes that were surrounded by lines of pain and focused on his big brother who looked back at him with concern.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked in a small voice that made Dean's chest tighten painfully.

"Sorry buddy, I just ran into a bit of trouble but I'm here now." Dean said and touched Sam's forehead. "How are you doing?"

Dean smiled wryly as Sam closed his eyes and leaned a bit into Dean's touch.

"My stomach really hurts." Sam admitted and Dean now noticed how Sam desperately had his arms clenched around his midsection.

"Lay down flat Sam. I wanna check out that stomach." Dean said and stood up from his crouched position.

"No, it hurts when I move." Sam protested.

"Come on, I'll help you." Dean said and slowly helped Sam onto his back though the movement clearly hurt the younger brother. "Where does it hurt exactly?"

"R-right side." Sam said and let out a deep breath through pursed lips.

"It does look a little bit swollen." Dean noticed and gently started probing the area with his fingers.

Sam suddenly started screaming and Dean quickly removed his fingers.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Dean apologized and rubbed Sam's chest with a hand in comfort. "Just breathe through it, Sammy, come on. I won't do it again, okay?"

But Sam's face had turned an even whiter scale of pale, and Dean realized what that meant even before Sam did. He quickly but carefully rolled Sam to his side again and Sam then started dry-heaving over the edge of the bed. The youngest brother's body began to spasm and a tear escaped his eye.

"Have you already thrown up tonight?" Dean asked as he soothingly rubbed Sam's back.

Sam nodded and Dean bit his lower lip for a second. Sam let out another painful sound when Dean tried to roll him onto his back again and that was when the older brother had had enough.

"That's it! I'm taking you to the ER." Dean said.

"But.." Sam started when Dean cut him off.

"Sam, this isn't up for discussion!" Dean said in a firm voice.

Sam let out an annoyed sigh but he still let Dean manhandle him into his shoes and jacket before they set out on the painful walk to the Impala.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, small steps. You can do it." Dean encouraged as he supported his brother to the Impala.

"Dean." Sam whimpered and bent over as the harsh pain made him feel nauseous and dizzy.

"Easy, Sammy." Dean soothed, placed a hand on Sam's chest to keep him from tipping over while his other hand rubbed Sam's back in comfort.

Sam's hands were clutched tightly around his stomach, and his bangs were damp of sweat – and whether it was because of his fever or from the big effort Sam was making to reach the car, Dean didn't know. Maybe it was a mix of both. Either way, it looked like Sam could pass out any moment and that didn't make Dean's worry lessen.

"Just a few more steps." Dean promised.

Sam nodded, took a few deep breaths, and then continued the difficult walk to the car with the support of his big brother. Dean opened up the passenger door and helped Sam inside, before he walked around the car and slid behind the wheel in a hurry.

"We won't have to drive for long." Dean said as the car came to live with a roar. "I saw a hospital sign earlier today."

Sam didn't say anything. He was busy clutching his stomach while trying to breathe through the cruel pain that kept attacking his lower abdomen. Dean eyed his brother warily before leaving the parking lot behind and heading towards the hospital. He had to drive very carefully though because every little bump or hole in the road made the younger brother twist in pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Dean apologized when the Impala hit another bump and Sam's face contorted. "Just hold on, okay? We'll be there in a minute."

Sam still didn't say anything, so Dean reached out and gave Sam's shoulder a mild squeeze.

"Hey." Dean said and Sam turned his head to look at his big brother with glassy eyes. "You hearing me?"

Sam nodded and Dean copied the gesture before letting go of Sam's shoulder and turning his attention back to the road - just in time to see the hospital sign.

"Bingo." Dean mumbled and steered the car in the right direction.

The Winchester brothers reached the hospital a few moments later, and Dean parked the Impala as close to the entrance as possible, walked around the car and opened the passenger door to help Sam outside. The younger brother groaned as Dean hoisted him up and the upright position made his world tilt for a second.

"Whoa! Sam!" Dean exclaimed and propped Sam up against the side of the car. "Talk to me.. You with me?"

"I'm.. I'm with you." Sam said when the dark spots in front of his eyes had disappeared.

"Good, let's get you inside then." Dean said though he didn't look too convinced about Sam's statement.

Dean put his arm around Sam's upper back and began the task of guiding his brother inside the entrance doors of the hospital. Dean winced in sympathy as every step Sam took seemed to leave the younger brother in agony and Dean felt relieved when they finally managed to get inside.

"How can I help you?" The nurse behind the information desk asked when they reached it and she looked up at the brothers from behind a computer screen.

"My brother Sam has severe pains in the right side of his lower abdomen." Dean said, cutting to the chase right away.

The nurse looked at Sam's pale and sweaty face, got up from her seat and found a clipboard with some papers before she went around the desk with it.

"You're lucky; it's been a slow night." The nurse said and handed Dean the papers while looking at Sam. "Fill out the paperwork. I'll follow Sam here to the examination room."

"Whoa, hold on missy." Dean protested and stopped the nurse from dragging Sam away from him. "I'm coming with him."

"Hospital policy says.." The nurse started when Dean cut her off.

"Yeah I don't care about the rules." Dean said and sent the nurse a challenging look.

"You want me to call security?" The nurse dared and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Dean had a snarky reply ready to send her in return but before he could say anything, Sam groaned and clutched his stomach harder which caused Dean to tighten his hold of his little brother.

"Look, my brother is the size of a house." Dean told the nurse. "You really want to take the chance and catch him if he passes out?"

The nurse looked between Dean and Sam for a few seconds and then let out a sigh.

"Follow me." She said and started leading the way towards the examination room.

**_ SPN _**

Sam was curled up on his side on the exam table and was desperately trying to focus on anything else but the pains that kept attacking his stomach. His clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown that was embarrassingly short considering Sam's long frame. The nurse had taken some blood samples and a urine sample before leaving and Sam was now waiting for the doctor to arrive while his big brother impatiently waited in a chair next to the exam table.

"Would it kill him to frigging hurry up already?" Dean asked and threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"The nurse said he would be here shortly." Sam said and shivered a bit in the chill examination room which of course didn't go by his brother unnoticed.

"You cold?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine Dean." Sam said though his body betrayed him as another shiver ran through his body.

"You're such a bad liar." Dean said and got up from the chair to look for something that could provide the younger brother some warmth.

When he didn't find anything useful, Dean shot an angry look towards the door the nurse had disappeared through ten minutes earlier. Couldn't the woman at least have found a blanket or something? Wasn't it bad enough that she hadn't been able to find a proper sized gown for Sam so he now had to lie half-naked on the exam table while waiting for the frigging slow doctor to arrive?

"Stupid hospital." Dean mumbled before prying off his beloved leather jacket. "Here you go, Sammy."

Dean draped the jacket over his gigantic little brother and smiled wryly when Sam fisted the leather and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thanks Dean." Sam said and shot his brother a grateful look.

"No big deal." Dean said and shrugged his shoulders though he secretly felt pretty good about himself every time he was able to make Sam happy. Not that he intended to let the kid know though – another perk of being a big brother.

They waited for another ten minutes – ten very _long_ minutes in Dean's opinion since Sam was obviously hurting and Dean couldn't do anything about it other than pace back and forth in the room and curse the doctor and the entire hospital staff for being so slow.

"Who do I have to kill around here to get some help?" Dean angrily exclaimed just as the doctor came into the room.

"I'm sorry for the wait." The doctor quickly apologized as he warily took in Dean's hard expression. "Mr..?"

"Page." Dean said. "Dean Page and this is my brother Sam."

"I'm Dr. Calvin." The doctor said and sat down on a swivel chair before rolling to the side of the exam table. "So, how are you doing Sam?"

"Look at him! He's obviously _not_ doing well!" Dean exclaimed.

"Dean." Sam said and shot his brother a bitchy face. _Stop it. He's just doing his job._

"Sam." Dean said in the same tone of voice. _I'll stop when he starts helping you._

"I understand you are experiencing some pains in the right side of your lower abdomen." The doctor said, oblivious to the silent exchange of words between the brothers. "I need you to turn on your back so I can inspect the area."

Sam didn't look very pleased with the fact that he had to move but he did it nonetheless with an effort that made his already too pale face turn even paler. The doctor started probing the area much like the way Dean had done earlier and Sam gasped in pain.

"Hmm.." The doctor said with a frown line between his eyes.

"He also has diarrhea and has been vomiting." Dean added to the doctor's speculations.

"It might be appendicitis." The doctor said with a nod of his head. "It can be difficult to diagnose for sure but I'll get a more exact picture of what we're dealing with when the result of the blood and urine tests come back."

"More waiting then?" Dean asked with annoyance.

"I'm afraid so but hopefully it won't be for long." The doctor said and turned his attention back to Sam. "How long have you had these symptoms?"

"A couple of days." Sam admitted and glanced at Dean with a guilty expression.

"Well then it's crucial we react fast if it does turn out to be appendicitis." The doctor said. "If it's left untreated for too long, there's a risk of perforation of the appendix."

"Which means to be precise?" Dean wanted to know.

"It means that the bacterium in the appendix begins to attack the appendix walls, resulting in inflammation and infection. If it's left untreated, it can rupture the appendix wall, causing the infection to spread in the abdomen." The doctor explains. "If that happens, it can be life-threatening."

"Comforting." Dean said with sarcasm and washed a hand down his mouth and chin.

"I'll get back to you when I know more." The doctor said and got up from his chair before leaving the room.

Dean sat down next to the exam table again and then reached out to slap Sam's shoulder.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Sam asked and rubbed his sore shoulder while scowling at his brother.

"Why didn't you tell me you've been feeling bad for a couple of _days_?" Dean asked.

"I didn't want you to worry." Sam said.

"Well brilliant idea!" Dean exclaimed ironically while rolling his eyes.

"It's probably just appendicitis, Dean." Sam said. "It's a common disease."

"Just because it's common, it doesn't mean it's not serious!" Dean said and mentally kicked himself for sounding like a worried mother - _and_ acting like one too as he tucked his jacket closer around his brother. But hey, whether he liked it or not, Dean _was_ the closest thing Sam had ever had to a mom, ever since the kid had been 6 months old at least.

"Look Dean, I'm fi.." Sam started when he suddenly clutched his stomach tightly and let out a loud groan.

"Sam?" Dean asked. "What's wrong?"

Sam clenched his eyes shut and let out a whimper so pitiful that Dean instantly hovered above him with panic and worry evident on his face.

"Sammy?" Dean asked the moment before Sam reached out a hand and closed it around Dean's arm in a death grip.

"The pain.. It.. just.. got.. worse.." Sam panted out between gasps of pain.

"Your stomach pains?" Dean asked and Sam nodded while hissing. "I'm gonna find a doctor."

"No!" Sam gasped and his grip of Dean's arm turned impossibly tighter.

"Sam, I have to get you some help." Dean tried to reason.

"Please.. Don't leave." Sam begged as some tears started rolling down his cheeks.

Dean's heart broke by the sight and – instead of leaving his brother's side – he shouted for help on the top of his lungs in hope of someone being able to hear it. Dean's efforts paid off as some nurses rushed into the room a few seconds later and he quickly explained the situation to them before the doctor arrived as well.

"Sam has definitely got appendicitis. But from the looks of it, perforation of the appendix has set in. I think it has turned into peritonitis and that is very serious." The doctor told the worried older brother with honesty as he used the stethoscope on Sam's stomach. "We have to take him to the OR right away."

Dean's eyes widened and he was in a loss of words as the hospital staff started preparing his little brother for the OR, pushing the oldest Winchester brother out of the way and lifting Sam from the exam table and onto a gurney.

"I want him started on antibiotics." The doctor ordered one of the nurses who was setting up an IV-line in Sam's wrist. "And fluids. I think he's going into shock."

"Dean." Sam whimpered and grasped empty air in search of his brother.

"Right here, Sammy." Dean said and grabbed Sam's flailing hand. "You're gonna be just fine, okay? No need to worry."

"We have to take him up now." The doctor told Dean.

"Dean." Sam said again – this time with desperation in his voice.

"Everything's gonna be alright, I promise." Dean said and gave Sam's hand a mild squeeze before he was forced to let go as Sam was rolled out of the room. "You hear me, Sammy?"

Dean followed behind the gurney until he was eventually held back and told to go wait in the waiting room. Dean watched his brother disappear down the hospital corridor while a lump formed in the older brother's throat.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean paced the waiting room back and forth - _back and forth, back and forth_ – until he lost all sense of direction and didn't know what foot to put in front of the other one no more. His worry about Sam got more and more intense as the seconds turned to minutes that turned to hours, and his constant questioning by the nurses station about his brother's state earned him sympathetic looks from the other people in the room.

"Mr. Page, you'll be informed when we know something about your brother." One of the nurses told him for the 6th time in the last hour.

If Dean didn't like his hair so much, he would definitely have pulled it out by now in sheer frustration. Just as that option started to feel like the wise thing to do, Dr. Calvin came into the waiting room.

"How's Sammy? Is he alright?" Dean asked before the doctor could say a single word.

The doctor looked at the desperate young man in front of him and let out a tired sigh.

"Let's go to my office and talk." The doctor said and Dean's breath caught in his throat instantly.

"Just tell me how he is." Dean said in a voice that shook a little. "At least tell me whether he's alive or.."

The words wouldn't come out but the message was clear.

"Your brother is still alive." The doctor assured.

Dean let out a big breath of relief and visibly deflated as the last few hours of constant worry suddenly made him feel very, very tired. He washed a hand down his face before composing himself enough to face the doctor again.

"Please follow me to my office, Mr. Page." The doctor said and Dean nodded.

Dean was asked to take a seat in front of Dr. Calvin's desk and the doctor sat down as well and folded his hands in front of him.

"Sam's appendix perforated." The doctor said with a serious expression. "It developed into peritonitis which, as I told you earlier, is very serious and life-threatening. Your brother had open surgery where we removed the offending appendix. He was given large amounts of antibiotics to fight the infection and prevent it from spreading further, however, given the circumstances that your brother waited so long to search medical treatment, the infection has spread to his blood."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked with rising concern.

"It means that Sam has also got sepsis." The doctor explained and Dean gaped in horror.

"Sepsis?" Dean repeated.

"Blood poisoning." The doctor confirmed with a nod of his head. "You brother then went into septic shock. Sam's blood pressure dropped significantly and his blood flow slowed which meant that the important organs didn't get enough blood. Most people don't survive this situation but Sam was lucky that we caught it in time and started treatment right away."

"But.. But that's a good thing, right?" Dean hopefully asked.

"Mr. Page, during septic shocks the lungs doesn't always get enough oxygen." The doctor said. "We had to put your brother on a ventilator to help him breathe."

Dean felt like someone just stabbed his gut with a butcher knife. He stared wide-eyed at the doctor while trying to process the information he'd just been told.

"Are you telling me that Sammy isn't breathing on his own?" Dean asked.

"I'm telling you that we put him on a ventilator so he won't _stop_ breathing." The doctor said and leaned back in his chair. "We've done everything we possibly can. Now the rest is up to your brother."

**_ SPN _**

Dean was sitting in a chair next to Sam's bed with his hand closed protectively around his little brother's. Dean's thumb gently rubbed back and forth on Sam's palm while he stared emptily on the mechanic rise and fall of Sam's chest in synchronize with the _whoosh whoosh_ from the ventilator. Words as _organ damage_ , _cardiac failure,_ _amputation_ and _high death rate_ kept circling inside Dean's head from when the doctor had explained to him what possible complications septic shock could have.

"When will you know for sure if there's been any damage?" Dean had asked the doctor.

"We'll know if he wakes up." The doctor had answered.

" _If_ he wakes up?" Dean had asked, horrified.

" _If.._ " The doctor had confirmed with a nod of his head.

Dean tightened his hold of Sam's hand.

"He'll wake up." Dean said, repeating the words he'd told the doctor earlier. "He's _my_ brother and he won't give up."

Dean washed a hand down his face and then let his eyes wander from the multiple IV-lines attached to Sam's arms, past the automatic rise and fall of his chest, to his brother's pale face. Sam's eyes were closed and the pain lines, that had been evident around them when Dean had brought him to the hospital, were gone now. Sam had a tube down his throat and a piece of surgical tape was placed across Sam's mouth and cheeks to keep it in place. Despite his large frame, Sam looked so small and fragile in this state that it scared the crap out of the older brother. If he had just known how bad Sam had really been feeling, he wouldn't have left Sam alone so long in the motel room. Hell, he wouldn't have left him alone in the first place!

"You idiot! How could you be so.. Why didn't you.. Frigging moron!" Dean angrily exclaimed but his anger disappeared as fast as it arrived and was instead replaced by despair and sorrow. "Sammy."

Dean's eyes stung and he rubbed at them again and wiped a hand under his nose before clearing his throat.

"You gotta fight man. You and me against the world, remember? I can't do this without you, Sammy." Dean said.

Sam stayed unresponsive and the only sound in the room, except for the _whoosh whoosh_ of the ventilator, was the beeping of the heart monitor that assured Dean of the fact that his little brother was still hanging on to life.

**_ SPN _**

Two days later, nothing had changed. Sam was still on the ventilator and had yet to wake up while Dean stayed by Sam's side the entire time – only occasionally interrupted by bathroom breaks and coffee runs. Food and sleep hadn't been on Dean's agenda at all, since he had lost all kind of appetite and was too worried about Sam to fall asleep. The doctor had kept an eye on Sam's vital stats and, even though he was pretty optimistic that the antibiotics, oxygenation and fluid addition Sam was given were working properly, he'd told Dean he was a bit worried about Sam's kidneys. Apparently Sam had what the doctor referred to as a _urinary output_ which meant that Sam probably had some kind of renal failure (all the medical terms made Dean's head spin). Besides the kidneys, the doctor couldn't find any immediate signs that would indicate further organ failure so that was at least good news. But what bothered the oldest Winchester brother the most though was the fact that the doctor couldn't say anything about Sam's mental state. That would have to wait until Sam eventually woke up – _if_ that ever happened.

Dean had just returned from yet another coffee run and had grabbed Sam's hand yet again, when he'd almost dropped his hot coffee in shock as Sam's hand suddenly twitched in his palm.

"Sam?" Dean asked with a mix of hope and panic.

He put the coffee on the small table next to the bed, got up from his chair and leaned over his brother to check for any signs indicating that Sam was waking up. Dean saw Sam's eyes move beneath the closed eyelids and his little brother's eyelashes were fluttering slightly.

"Sammy?" Dean asked and moved Sam's bangs back before letting his hand rest against Sam's cheek.

As the hand Dean was still grasping squeezed his hand a bit, Dean reached out and pushed the emergency button and it didn't take long before a nurse showed up.

"My brother is waking up!" Dean told her.

"I'll get the doctor." The nurse announced before rushing out of the room again.

"Sam? Hey! Sam!" Dean kept encouraging. "Open your eyes little brother."

And like a miracle, Sam did open his eyes – just as the doctor arrived in the hospital room followed by a couple of nurses. The green dewy-eyes of the youngest Winchester, that Dean had been longing to see for the last three days, were starring unfocused at the white-colored ceiling for a couple of seconds, but then they suddenly turned wide and panicked.

"Mr. Page." The doctor said, trying to get Sam's attention while Dean was pushed out of the way by the nurses. "Mr. Page, can you hear me?"

Sam eyes just darted wildly around and his heart rate picked up as his panic increased. Sam made a choking sound and his arms and legs started flailing. As the nurses tried their best to hold the younger brother down, Dean finally lost his patience.

"Move!" He said and pushed a nurse aside so that he could step into Sam's line of vision.

"Please step aside." The doctor said. "I'm a doctor; I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah? Well, I'm a big brother and I also know what I'm doing." Dean shot back without looking away from his little brother's scared eyes. "Sam? Hey, hey, hey, look at me! Sammy!"

Dean caught one of Sam's flailing arms and held Sam's hand in a firm grip.

"Sammy, it's me. It's Dean." He said and lowered his head a bit closer to Sam's face. "You're alright buddy, I'm here."

Sam's eyes finally settled on Dean's, and the older brother let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding when he saw recognition in Sam's eyes. Sam slowly calmed down and so did the sound of the heart monitor.

"That's it Sammy. You're doing good." Dean assured, his own heartbeat slowing down in time with his brother's.

Sam made another choking sound and a few tears left his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

"You're at the hospital." Dean explained and gently wiped the tears off Sam's cheeks while ignoring the way the doctor looked at him. "The tube in your throat has been helping you breathe properly but the doctor will remove it in a second, right doc?"

"Sure." The doctor said with a nod of his head. "Sam, I'm doctor Ca.."

"Yeah, he doesn't care." Dean interrupted. "Just take the frigging tube out of his throat!"

The doctor shot Dean an offended look but kept his head high as he waved the nurses closer to get started on the job.

"The doctor will remove the tube now, okay?" Dean told Sam. "Just do as he tells you. I'll be right here."

Sam gave Dean a weak but trustful nod and then squeezed the older brother's hand. Dean returned the gesture and stepped a bit aside to allow the nurses more access – though he didn't step further away than Sam was still able to see him and he also didn't let go of his brother's hand.

"Sam, I'm gonna count to three and then I want you to take a deep breath and cough, alright?" The doctor told Sam and Sam nodded shortly. "Good. One, two, _three_."

Sam coughed while the doctor pulled the tube out of his throat. He continued to cough a few more times and the tube was then replaced with a nasal cannula. Before Sam could make a sound, Dean had already placed a straw from a cup of water by his lips that soothed his sore throat after a few sips.

"Thanks." Sam rasped out and the sound of his voice was like music to Dean's ears.

"Try not to talk too much." The doctor recommended. "Your throat's going to be sore for a while."

Sam nodded and then winced a little when he tried to move.

"I'll give you some morphine for the pain and then I want you to get some rest." The doctor told him and looked at Dean for confirmation.

"I'll make sure he rests." Dean promised.

"Good, I'll do a check-up on you later." The doctor said and gave Sam a quick smile before leaving the room.

The last nurse that was left in the room set up a bag of morphine in an IV-line before she left the room as well – leaving the Winchester brothers alone. Dean let out a long sigh and sat down in the chair next to his brother's bed and exchanged a look with Sam.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dean asked after a little while of silence.

Sam frowned and looked thoughtfully at his big brother for a few moments.

"Appendicitis?" Sam then suggested in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, that's right." Dean nodded. "Your appendix burst which led to peritonitis which again led to blood-poisoning. It was pretty tough-and-go for a while, Sam. You goddamn idiot."

"Sorry." Sam apologized with what could best be described as puppy-dog eyes.

"Yeah well, next time you frigging tell me when you're feeling sick!" Dean exclaimed. "And I don't care whether it's a stomach ache or a damn splint in your finger – you tell me, alright? I'm not kidding Sam, so you can wipe that smug smile off your face right now!"

"Fine." Sam said with a wry smile.

Dean let out a sigh and scratched at the stubbles on his chin before noticing Sam's drooping eyelids.

"Get some rest, Sammy." He then said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"'Kay Dean." Sam yawned and his eyes soon closed.

Dean leaned back in his chair and smiled wryly as Sam started snoring softly. It was such a relief to know that Sam was now able to breathe on his own and that Dean no longer needed to worry about whether or not his little brother would wake up again. Dean knew that Sam was still not out of the woods yet – especially not with the doctor's concern about Sam's kidneys – but for now the older brother was satisfied. Dean studied Sam's peaceful face for a few minutes and then closed his eyes as well as sleep was finally able to claim him.

* * *

 

Sequel can be found here: [Fix You](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2908709/chapters/6481562)


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